Motorway
M3 traffic and collisions
The M3 is a motorway of 62.5 miles, from Surrey to Hampshire. This page covers its traffic at 24 DfT count points since 2000 and the collisions police recorded on it.
- Traffic in 2025 2.1bn vehicle miles
- Average daily traffic 91,563 vehicles a day, both directions
- Busiest section 140,751 J13 to J14
- HGV share 6.2% of vehicle miles
- Traffic since 2019 −3.5% same count points
- Collisions, 2021 to 2025 571 5.7 per 100m vehicle miles
How busy is the M3?
On an average day in 2025, 91,563 vehicles passed each point on the M3, counting both directions. The busiest section is J13 to J14 (Hampshire), with 140,751 a day; the quietest listed is A27 to M27 (14), with 25,406.
Busiest sections, 2025
J13 to J14 carries 1.5 times the road’s average flow.
| Section | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| J13 to J14 Hampshire · 1.2 mi · HGVs 7.0% | 140,751 |
| J12 to J13 Hampshire · 1.7 mi · HGVs 7.6% | 130,785 |
| J11 to J12 Hampshire · 3.5 mi · HGVs 7.3% | 128,023 |
| J10 to J11 Hampshire · 0.8 mi · HGVs 9.1% | 126,216 |
| Kitsmead Lane Flyover with M3 to J3 Surrey · 5.5 mi · HGVs 6.7% | 123,417 |
| J4 to J3 Surrey · 4.5 mi · HGVs 5.7% | 118,589 |
| At slip road Hampshire · 0.5 mi · HGVs 9.2% | 117,668 |
| J12 to Kitsmead Lane Flyover with M3 Surrey · 2.1 mi · HGVs 6.8% | 113,905 |
| J9 to J10 Hampshire · 1.4 mi · HGVs 9.4% | 110,741 |
| J5 to J6 Hampshire · 4.8 mi · HGVs 5.7% | 103,625 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Route
Surrey to Hampshire · 62.5 miles
M3 traffic and collisions by section
18 sections between junctions, in route order. Each is the average of its DfT count points, weighted by length. 6 short link roads and spurs (2.9 miles) count in the road’s totals but are not listed.
Show all 18 sections Tap a column heading to sort
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A308 to A316Surrey | 48,291 | 3 |
| 2 | J2 to J1Surrey | 62,848 | 23 |
| 3 | J12 to Kitsmead Lane Flyover with M3Surrey | 113,905 | 71 |
| 4 | Kitsmead Lane Flyover with M3 to J3Surrey | 123,417 | 51 |
| 5 | J4 to J3Surrey | 118,589 | 44 |
| 6 | J4 to J4AHampshire | 93,371 | 15 |
| 7 | J4A to J5Hampshire | 96,243 | 52 |
| 8 | J5 to J6Hampshire | 103,625 | 52 |
| 9 | J7 to J6Hampshire | 94,624 | 26 |
| 10 | J7 to J8Hampshire | 101,834 | 11 |
| 11 | J8 to J9Hampshire | 56,135 | 59 |
| 12 | J9 to J10Hampshire | 110,741 | 26 |
| 13 | At slip roadHampshire | 117,668 | 8 |
| 14 | J10 to J11Hampshire | 126,216 | 18 |
| 15 | J11 to J12Hampshire | 128,023 | 51 |
| 16 | J12 to J13Hampshire | 130,785 | 18 |
| 17 | J13 to J14Hampshire | 140,751 | 24 |
| 18 | A27 to M27 (14)Hampshire | 25,406 | 5 |
Vehicles a day is the average daily flow in 2025. “Since 2019” compares the same count points. Collisions are those with the M3 as the first road, placed on the nearest section by their recorded position; rates (per 100 million vehicle miles) are shown for sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more.
M3 traffic by vehicle type
Cars and taxis make up 76.9% of the vehicle miles on the M3. HGVs account for 6.2%, rising to 9.4% on J9 to J10.
Vehicle mix, 2025
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
HGV share of traffic
| Year | HGV share |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.6% |
| 2001 | 7.4% |
| 2002 | 7.1% |
| 2003 | 7.3% |
| 2004 | 7.3% |
| 2005 | 7.3% |
| 2006 | 7.2% |
| 2007 | 7.3% |
| 2008 | 7.4% |
| 2009 | 6.7% |
| 2010 | 6.7% |
| 2011 | 6.4% |
| 2012 | 6.4% |
| 2013 | 6.5% |
| 2014 | 6.8% |
| 2015 | 7.0% |
| 2016 | 7.1% |
| 2017 | 6.7% |
| 2018 | 6.8% |
| 2019 | 6.4% |
| 2020 | 8.6% |
| 2021 | 7.6% |
| 2022 | 6.9% |
| 2023 | 6.6% |
| 2024 | 6.4% |
| 2025 | 6.2% |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
M3 traffic trend
Traffic on the M3 came to 2.09 billion vehicle miles in 2025. At the count points present in both years, it is down 3.5% on 2019, before the pandemic, and up 3.2% on 2015.
Vehicle miles a year
Like for like, traffic is up 7.7% on 2000.
| Year | Vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.9bn |
| 2001 | 2.0bn |
| 2002 | 2.0bn |
| 2003 | 2.0bn |
| 2004 | 2.0bn |
| 2005 | 2.0bn |
| 2006 | 2.1bn |
| 2007 | 2.1bn |
| 2008 | 2.0bn |
| 2009 | 2.0bn |
| 2010 | 2.0bn |
| 2011 | 2.0bn |
| 2012 | 1.9bn |
| 2013 | 2.0bn |
| 2014 | 2.0bn |
| 2015 | 2.0bn |
| 2016 | 2.0bn |
| 2017 | 2.0bn |
| 2018 | 2.1bn |
| 2019 | 2.1bn |
| 2020 | 1.6bn |
| 2021 | 1.8bn |
| 2022 | 2.0bn |
| 2023 | 2.1bn |
| 2024 | 2.1bn |
| 2025 | 2.1bn |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
Average daily flow
| Year | Vehicles a day |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 86,427 |
| 2001 | 88,746 |
| 2002 | 88,275 |
| 2003 | 87,898 |
| 2004 | 91,078 |
| 2005 | 89,905 |
| 2006 | 92,894 |
| 2007 | 92,498 |
| 2008 | 90,330 |
| 2009 | 88,495 |
| 2010 | 87,918 |
| 2011 | 90,649 |
| 2012 | 86,669 |
| 2013 | 88,328 |
| 2014 | 88,783 |
| 2015 | 89,014 |
| 2016 | 87,978 |
| 2017 | 90,814 |
| 2018 | 92,143 |
| 2019 | 95,096 |
| 2020 | 68,958 |
| 2021 | 80,342 |
| 2022 | 90,004 |
| 2023 | 92,222 |
| 2024 | 91,273 |
| 2025 | 91,563 |
Source:DfT,UK Motoring analysis 2000 to 2025 Updated
The chart counts the whole road as it was each year, so new or renumbered stretches move it. The percentage changes compare only count points present in both years (87.5% of today’s road for 2019). In 2025, 13 of the 24 count points were counted; DfT estimated the rest from earlier counts and local trends.
M3 collisions
Police recorded 571 collisions with the M3 as the first road from 2021 to 2025, 114 of them fatal or serious. That is 5.7 per 100 million vehicle miles, higher than the 4.9 for all motorways in Great Britain. On average there were 1.8 a year for each mile of road.
Reported collisions by year
Down 26.3% from 2021 to 2025.
| Year | Slight | Fatal or serious |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 89 | 29 |
| 2022 | 102 | 21 |
| 2023 | 97 | 22 |
| 2024 | 95 | 29 |
| 2025 | 74 | 13 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
Sections with the highest collision rates
Per 100 million vehicle miles, 2021 to 2025. Sections of half a mile or more with 10 or more collisions.
| Section | Per 100m vehicle miles |
|---|---|
| J12 to Kitsmead Lane Flyover with M3 Surrey · 71 collisions | 41.0 |
| J10 to J11 Hampshire · 18 collisions | 10.8 |
| J9 to J10 Hampshire · 26 collisions | 10.0 |
| Kitsmead Lane Flyover with M3 to J3 Surrey · 51 collisions | 9.8 |
| J13 to J14 Hampshire · 24 collisions | 8.2 |
| J11 to J12 Hampshire · 51 collisions | 6.6 |
| J5 to J6 Hampshire · 52 collisions | 5.9 |
| J8 to J9 Hampshire · 59 collisions | 5.5 |
Source:DfT STATS19,UK Motoring analysis 2021 to 2025 Updated
A further 37 collisions were recorded at junctions where the M3 was the second road; they are not in the figures above. Fatal or serious uses DfT’s adjusted serious figures. 97.5% of the collisions could be placed on a section. How we count collisions
Council areas on the M3
In route order. Each is the highway authority DfT files the count points under.
- Surrey
- Hampshire
Planned closures on the M3 in England
National Highways has 13 planned closures on the M3 between 16 September 2026 and 30 September 2026, all of them starting in that period. 4 close a carriageway rather than a lane or slip road, and 12 start between 7pm and 6am.
-
Lane or slip M3 northbound hard shoulder closure (67/2 to 63/3)
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Carriageway M3 southbound Jct 5 entry slip road closure
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Lane or slip M3 Eastbound Jct 3 to Jct 2 Lane 1,2 closure
-
Lane or slip M3 northbound hard shoulder closure (76/1 to 75/5)
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Carriageway M3 northbound Jct 6 exit slip closure
-
Lane or slip M3 Eastbound Jct 2 to Jct 1 lane 3,2 closure
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Lane or slip M3 northbound lane 1 and 2 closure (46/9 to 42/9) and entry slip
-
Lane or slip M3 northbound lane 1 and 2 closure (46/9 to 42/9)
5 more planned closures in this period are not shown.
Planned closures only: National Highways can cancel or change them, and closures caused by incidents are not shown. Council roads in England are not covered. Roadworks and closures across the UK
Source:National Highways 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 Updated
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic counts and vehicle mix | Road traffic statistics (AADF by count point) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2000 to 2025 | 24 count points in 2025 | 15 September 2026 |
| Reported collisions | Road safety open data (STATS19) Department for Transport Derived statistics UK Motoring | 2021 to 2025 | 571 reported collisions | 15 September 2026 |
| Planned closures | Transport Data Feeds (DATEX II) National Highways | 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-30 | 2,304 planned closure schemes | 16 September 2026 |
- Annual average daily flow (AADF) is the average number of vehicles passing a point on a typical day of the year, both directions combined.
- Vehicle miles are AADF multiplied by link length and 365, summed over every count point link on the road.
- Sections join count point links between junctions, using the link lines in DfT’s major road database.
- STATS19 covers personal injury collisions reported to the police. Damage-only collisions are not included, and not every injury collision is reported.
- Serious and slight figures are DfT’s adjusted estimates, which allow for police forces moving to injury-based reporting.
- Counts of one or two collisions below Great Britain level are shown as “fewer than 3”.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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